Georgian Dream criticizes UK sanctions proposal against Bidzina Ivanishvili

Georgian Dream (GD) political council issued a statement condemning the recent motion in the UK House of Commons calling for sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling party. In its January 16 statement, the GD described such proposals as evidence of the UK’s governance being “reduced to the level of Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, and the European Parliament by the deep state.”

The motion, introduced on January 13 by Liberal Democrat MP James McClyar, urges the UK government to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili. By the evening of January 16, the motion had 14 signatories. This proposal follows sanctions imposed by the UK on Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and other high-ranking officials.

Georgian Dream described the UK as historically a “strong, sovereign, and progressive state” that championed the rule of law and fundamental human rights. The party referenced England’s historical role in establishing principles of procedural justice, including the right to a fair trial, which ensures due process before sanctions are imposed.

“It is astonishing that what was understood in England as early as the 13th and 17th centuries has been entirely forgotten and trampled upon by the British government in the 21st century,” the statement read.

The party labeled European Parliament resolutions advocating for Ivanishvili’s sanctioning as “unjust, shameful, and anti-Georgian,” and criticized similar sanctions by Lithuania and Estonia targeting Georgian Dream officials and associates.

According to Georgian Dream, these sanctions lack any factual basis or evidence.

“It is deeply alarming that a country like the UK has today been turned into yet another toy of the ‘deep state,’ the so-called global war party, in the same way as Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, and the European Parliament,” the party stated.